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Friday, November 27

Happy Friday-after-Thanksgiving, friends! I guess this means that the Christmas season has begun.I've never really been into the crazy Black Friday shopping thing. For my boys the Friday after Thanksgiving means one thing and one thing one only: Christmas boxes come down & decorating begins.

My seven year old has been pining over the Christmas boxes in the garage since we packed everything away last January. I've been putting him off all year by telling him that we can decorate the day after Thanksgiving. I felt a little poke in the shoulder this morning around 3 AM.

Mom, is it time?

It's still night, go back to sleep.

5 AM

Mom is it time?

It's very early, go back to sleep.

I held him off until about 5:30, when I had reached my poking limit, and his excitement could not be contained. Explosive, is the only word to describe it. A little bit scary, but mainly pure joy. So I grabbed my coffee, stumbled into the garage, pulled down the bins, and gave the boys free reign over Christmas. So, Christmas has officially thrown-up all over the house. Jack's decorating aesthetic: more is more. is more is more. is more.

And just when I start to hyperventillate because the red and green walls seem to be caving in with Christmas stuff, I have to remind myself to be thankful. So very thankful. Thankful for our home, for 4 and 7, these sweet ages of my boys, for the magic that Christmas is for them. Thankful for every little part. I know it is but a breath.

Whether you are digging out Christmas decorations, or waiting in line for a bargain, it is time for Faith Art Friday. In case you are new here...

Each Friday Melissa and I meet on our blogs with a Faith Art Journaling Prompt for us all to respond to together. We'll post our journaling responses, along with a few tips, tricks, and ideas. Then *and this is the best part* we'll meet (that means you too) with our journals and responses in our private Facebook group. This group is such an encouragement to us! We hope you'll join us.

“Go home to your own people.Tell them your story—what the Master did, how He had mercy on you.” -Mark 5:19

This Week's Prompt

Document a favorite testimony from your life or that of someone you care about. It can be a testimony of salvation, healing, forgiveness, anything that impacted you and that you would like to remember.

There's no artwork today while I'm managing Christmas explosions with my boys and Melissa is enjoying Thanksgiving with her family. BUT, Melissa has a great video to share to get you started & inspired. And, of course, we'd LOVE to see what you create here.

Friday, November 6

Each Friday Melissa and I will meet on our blogs with a Faith Art Journaling Prompt

for us all to respond to together. We'll post our journaling responses,

along with a few tips, tricks, and ideas.

Then *and this is the best part* we'll meet (that means you too) with our journals and responses in our private Facebook group. This group is such an encouragement to me!

Come join us.

When I saw this prompt from Melissa, I knew exactly which verse I wanted to journal. This one:

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.Matthew 5:48

Huh? Say what? Come again, Jesus?Isn't the whole point of Jesus that I'm not perfect. I can't be perfect. Even if I try really hard, I will never be perfect. Hmmmm.It is tucked into the Sermon on the MountWhen I read it in context the subheading is about loving your enemies:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Okay, I understand loving and praying for my enemies.

That is hard, but that is what God calls us to.

But I still can't be perfect. Ever.

In my feisty college days, this verse made me angry.

Lord, why are you asking me to do something that I clearly can't do?

But now as I think about it, I only come to one conclusion:

I will never be perfect in my own strength.

Thank you Jesus for stepping in and being perfect for me.

When I think about how crazy far I am from God's standard of perfection

my response is simply:

I need you.

I need you.

I need you.

Every second of every day, I need you.

Maybe that is the point is the point of the verse. To point me back to Jesus.

I chose Immanuel: God is with us.
All the time. Every day.
I forget that. A lot.

A couple weeks ago I heard such a great sermon (HERE) that I keep thinking about.
I love this sermon, because it's true. It's real. It's hard.
God doesn't always do what we want Him to do or what makes sense to us.Thank you Lord that you don't.

The sermon was about religion and relationship.
He read a depressing passage from 1 Samuel 4, about how the ark of the covenant was taken away by the enemy, and thousands of Israelites died, and just when you think God's gonna pull out a happy ending and fix everything... He doesn't.

It's a good sermon. because it's real life.

4 And Samuel’s word came to all Israel.

The Philistines Capture the Ark

Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. The Israelites camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines at Aphek.2 The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand of them on the battlefield.3 When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh, so that he may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout that the ground shook.6 Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp,7 the Philistines were afraid. “A god has[a] come into the camp,” they said. “Oh no! Nothing like this has happened before.8 We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.9 Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!”

10 So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

I know, right?
It's one of those passages that I would have read by myself and gone, huh? I don't get it. What do I do with this?
But the thing that I cannot get out of my head, the part of the sermon I loved:What were they doing in the battle without God?
Are they stupid? No, really. What is wrong with these people?
Are they so arrogant that they actually left God behind and ran ahead without Him?
Who do they think they are?

It wasn't until they had lost 4,000 soldiers and were desperate that they said,
"Oh, maybe we should go get the Lord and let Him work his magic and save us."

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I get it. It's me.

Again.

What are you doing on the battlefield without God?
What are you doing trying to raise kids, without God?
What are you doing trying to be married without God?

It doesn't matter where I am in life, whether I am in crisis, or not.
Here is what I know: Life is a battle. It just is.
Every day: the words I chose, my patience, my thoughts, my choices, everything.
So often I run into it without my God.
And things go not exactly the way I planned and run back to get my God.

Let me be clear, it's not the running to God part that is that doesn't work.
We can always run to Him, no matter how far we've run away from Him.

It's the "Come and fix everything for me and then go back in your box"
part that doesn't ever really fly with Him.

I can't tell you how many times in the past 2 weeks I have thought,
"Wait, what am I doing on this battlefield (wherever I may be, usually Target) without you, God?"
"Lord, I can't fight this battle without you. I need you!!!
No matter what the outcome is, I need you.
Thank you for going before me and standing beside me
and fighting this battle for me. Amen."

I've been so aware and so thankful that He is with me in the battle. All the time.
So, that's the long story of how I chose my Name of God from the prompt.

Now onto my page...

Here is my finished page:

I started with an old book that I turned into a journal.
Specific directions for prepping the pages & supplies
can be found here.

I squirted some paint onto the page:

And spread it around with a paper towel.

I made a bunch of polka dots by twisting my brush around.

And stenciled in some stars.

I added some blue and red brush strokes.

And let it dry before I added paper.
I picked out a few pieces of paper that I wanted to use.

I cut the paper out into rectangles and glued it to the page with Mod Podge.
Then I painted part of the rectangle white, to prep a space for the word "Immanuel".

I added a little brown paint & blended it with a q-tip.

I painted the word Immanuel with a thin brush and brown paint.

It was a little too brown, so I added a layer of white.

I painted "God is with us" below.

But I messed up and I didn't like it.

So I painted over it.

And added new words with navy paint.
And I added flowers. of course.

I added more details with white and brown.

And that's it! I would love to see what you create with Melissa's prompt:
The Names of God.